1) India Successfully Conducts Night Trial Of Prithvi-II Missile
•The surface-to-surface missile was test-fired from a mobile launcher from launch complex-3 of the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur, Odisha. The perfect test launch came after the successful trial of the Agni-5 missile.
2) Avani Chaturvedi Becomes 1st Indian Woman To Fly Fighter Aircraft Solo
•She flew a MiG-21 bison in her first solo flight from Jamnagar base of Indian Air Force (IAF) in Gujarat.
3) India International Textiles Expo Begins In Colombo
•A three –day India International Textiles Expo (IITExpo) of India began in Sri Lankan capital of Colombo. It is being organized by Powerloom Development & Export Promotion Council (PDEXCIL) with the support of Union Ministry of Textiles & Ministry of Commerce & Industry.
•The event was inaugurated by Sri Lankan minister of Special Assignments Dr. Sarath Amunugama. At the event, about 45 exhibitors from various textile clusters of India displayed variety of fabrics, home textiles, traditional items etc. suitable for apparel, industrial, technical application and general consumers.
4) Agriculture Ministry Adds 6 New Features In E-NAM Platform
•Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh launched six new features in the National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) platform to make it more user-friendly. The six new features of e-NAM platform includes-
1. MIS dashboard for better analysis,
2. BHIM payment facility by traders,
3. Mobile payment facility by traders,
4. Enhanced features on mobile app such as gate entry and payment through mobile,
5. Integration of farmer’s database, and
6. e-Learning module.
•e-NAM was launched in 2016 with the objective of providing competitive and remunerative price to farmers for their products through online competent bidding process. Currently, 479 mandis across 14 states and 01 union territory are covered under it.
5) India Ranks 81st In Global Corruption Perception Index
•India has been ranked 81st in the global corruption perception index for 2017, released by Transparency International, which named the country among the "worst offenders" in terms of graft and press freedom in the Asia Pacific region. The index ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption. In the 2016 India was in the 79th place among 176 countries.
•The index uses a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean. In the latest ranking New Zealand and Denmark were placed the highest, with scores of 89 and 88, respectively. On the other hand, Syria, Sudan and Somalia were ranked lowest with scores of 14, 12 and 9, respectively.
6) EPFO Cuts Interest Rate To 8.55% For 2017-18
•Retirement fund body Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has reduced the interest rate on deposits to 8.55% for 2017-18 from 8.65% for 2016-17 following a general decline in interest rates.
•The move will affect around 6 crore subscribers and leave EPFO with a surplus of Rs 586 crore against Rs 695 crore in the previous financial year. The decision is significant as the labour ministry estimates that it would add another 3 crore to its subscriber base.
